All Things Superman: An Open Discussion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 36

[TheIrishAvenger]

Were the TDKR threads exactly like this last year?

 

[ThePhantasm]

Maybe, but TDKR was the sequel to a highly successful film. MOS isn't. You can't market the two the same way.

 

[mad-sci]

I don't really understand that strategy, if that is what they're doing. Do they think people aren't able to process the fact that multiple big budget movies come out in the summertime?


No, apparently people can only be excited about one movie at a time

Its one of those defending-WB's-marketing arguments that makes zero sense.

OR it could be the fact that marketing your film at the same time as 2 potential blockbusters would be extremely costly?

AND the fact that your film comes out 6 weeks later, might make the competing pointless?

PLUS the fact that after both films are out, WB has at least 6 WEEKS to promote their movie non-stop (with NO competition for their audience on their release date), that may make more sense?


Yeah, it's silly. Lets spend millions marketing the film NOW, at the same time as IM3 and STID, then wait 6 weeks, because WB will have nothing left except spoiling the damn movie. Yes, that's a much better idea...

 

[craigdbfan]

Were the TDKR threads exactly like this last year?

Even with TDKR's relatively low promotion it was still leagues more than what we're getting for MOS.

 

[TheIrishAvenger]

Good point Phantasm, so maybe they weren't that bad. I didn't bother chatting during TDKR drought since I was too busy on other sites...

 

[DarthAlani]

Right on the money. MOS is a reboot to a franchise that has been in the gutter. People need to be convinced to spend their hard earned money.

 

[ThePhantasm]

OR it could be the fact that marketing your film at the same time as 2 potential blockbusters would be extremely costly?

AND the fact that your film comes out 6 weeks later, might make the competing pointless?

PLUS the fact that after both films are out, WB has at least 6 WEEKS to promote their movie non-stop (with NO competition for their audience on their release date), that may make more sense?

Yeah, it's silly. Lets spend millions marketing the film NOW, at the same time as IM3 and STID, then wait 6 weeks, because WB will have nothing left except spoiling the damn movie. Yes, that's a much better idea...

You are critiquing a marketing plan that I haven't advocated. I haven't once suggested that WB should spoil the whole movie. That's a straw man that is easy for you to ridicule and roll your eyes at.

You are overemphasizing the competition aspect. The GA can be excited about more than one film at a time. Marketing the film in early May with no prior buildup, however, runs the risk of said marketing being "drowned out" by the rest of the marketing noise. Its not a competition question so much as an opportunity-to-get-your-message-out question. Now is when WB has a great opportunity to do just that, and to build up a momentum and grab the GA's attention so that its advertizing will indeed stand out more in May.

 

[ThePhantasm]

There are benefits to long-term momentum-building marketing. Warner Bros. pioneered such marketing in 1989 with the first Batman film. The result was "batmania," a pre-film hype frenzy that translated into a) the film being a huge box office success and b) some $750 million dollars worth of merchandise being sold prior to the film's release. As such, the marketing payed off in spades. It was costly, but the benefits were well worth the cost.

Other studios began employing the long-term marketing strategy after that. With the release of Batman and Robin, however, WB ran their once-popular franchise into the ground. They didn't risk a large scale marketing campaign for Batman Begins, and while Begins was a success in theatres, it was not as huge as it could have been. With The Dark Knight, however, WB presented a huge 1989-reminiscent marketing campaign that put TDK in the news continually and made the sequel as smash hit. After the tremendous success of TDK all WB had to do to market TDKR was use a relatively tame marketing campaign.

The problem with MOS is that they are employing that TDKR style marketing campaign (actually even less than that, as cragdbfan noted), hoping that Nolan's name will draw in audiences, rather than employing the more successful campaigns that they are better known for. The risk, however, is that MOS may only have a mediocre presence in theatres if things don't pick up. There is also the further potential loss to merchandising sales that would otherwise be higher with a batmania-esque hype.

Yes, there are costs and risks to all marketing strategies. Here, I'm critiquing WB's current strategy as following a faulty paradigm (the TDKR paradigm) when they should be putting more effort into things. It doesn't have to be the level of Batman '89 and TDK, but it should be more intensive than it is right now.

 

[TheDailyPigMan]

Looks like Warner Bros. saw that Costume Craze released those Zod/Faora costumes asked for those to be taken down...at least that's how it looks...

http://www.costumecraze.com/search.php?searchstring=faora&x=0&y=0&ssavl=1364937657&jsavl=1

 

[X Knight]

I don't expect wall-to-wall, spoil everything marketing coverage.

but, by now, I figured they'd have released a bit more than what they have.

More movie stills. More posters. More clips.

I mean......where are the giant poster/banners that they usually hang in the theater lobbies? Have any of you guys seen any at your theaters? I sure haven't.

It still feels like MOS is still an unknown at this time.

you don't need to spoil everything, but you should at least raise public awareness. and that's where I feel WB is dropping the ball.

 

[G.Godfrey]

I've decided to stop coming here and posting until something new drops. So I'll see you boys and girls in a week, few weeks or a month! G.G. out.

 

[mad-sci]

You are overemphasizing the competition aspect. The GA can be excited about more than one film at a time. Marketing the film in early May with no prior buildup, however, runs the risk of said marketing being "drowned out" by the rest of the marketing noise. Its not a competition question so much as an opportunity-to-get-your-message-out question. Now is when WB has a great opportunity to do just that, and to build up a momentum and grab the GA's attention so that its advertizing will indeed stand out more in May.

Why?


It's a totally valid question, so I'll ask it again. Why?



The reason that I'm asking this question is that I think a lot of you seem to have forgotten what happened in December. That's when the first full trailer for MOS came out, and BLEW EVERYONE away. Not the fans. Not the Internetrrs. EVERYONE. The General Audience. With 1 trailer, WB managed what films like After Earth, World War Z and Monsters University achieved with countless posters, trailers, WonderCon promotions - they got the GA aware that there is a new Superman film out in 2013.

No prior buildup? The whole POINT of movie marketing is NOT to get people interested in watching a film, but to make you AWARE of a new film. I hate the Twilight films, and NEVER watch horror films, but movie marketing makes me aware if such films are coming out. MOS established GA awareness with the December trailer. Don't believe me? Look at the downloads, YouTube accounts by non fans, news reports by other media sites. WB has succeeded with the first point - letting people know there's a new Superman film.

So Monsters University has 8 character posters? I see. So would the GA be aware of who The 2 main characters are? Yes. But would they know that this new film is a prequel, so don't expect to see a continuation of the old story, no Boo? I don't think so. So what do the studio do? They market the film so audiences ARE aware.


The 2nd phase of movie marketing is aimed for 1 thing only - to make audiences aware of the release date. Expect all future marketing to emphasise the date. 6 weeks to promote WHEN a film is released? That is NOT a rushed marketing plan. And more likely, it'll be 2 MONTHS, which is more than enough time.


There's no rushing being done, because there IS awareness of MOS. people are just impatient. That's a different matter.

There are benefits to long-term momentum-building marketing. Warner Bros. pioneered such marketing in 1989 with the first Batman film. The result was "batmania," a pre-film hype frenzy that translated into a) the film being a huge box office success and b) some $750 million dollars worth of merchandise being sold prior to the film's release. As such, the marketing payed off in spades. It was costly, but the benefits were well worth the cost.

That is THE most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. You cannot possibly compare 1989 Batman marketing to now. They are literally 2 different generations. In 1989, there were no comic book films, apart from Superman. There was no Internet, so any marketing was done via the studio, which is why there needed to be high promotion. Nowadays, after ALL the films released since then, and the fact that almost every aspect of a film can be spoiled by anybody via Twitter, Facebook or Twitter, you think that type of marketing is applicable???? Seriously???

 

[Marvin]

Did you know Monsters University (the film that will make sure MOS is #1 only for a week) already has 8 character posters? Pacific Rim which comes out a month after has 5. Kick-Ass 2 (August) and Catching Fire (Out in November) also have a bunch. Even After Earth has two, a film that, if the Will Smith trend continues, will steal some of MOS's earnings. Hope this info makes you feel better! t:

I do find it sad that Monsters U will def knock MoS out of the top spot. And whatever is left will flock over to that brad pit zombie cgi spectacle. Unlike Iron Man's clear skies, this kinda stinks.

If only they took TDKR spot again, that way they'd have to only deal with the august dead zone...

shucks.
Looks like Wolverine will be coasting this year.

 

[echostation]

with that Mask will Bane-Zod of Man or Krypton learn to bucky up with the Clark Kent Superman... and go for a real Super ride

similar to how Bane wanted to deal with Batman before it was excised unfortunately from the script

 

[J-Sentius]

I still think that something will be revealed if we all stop talking about the film and forget about it.

Man of Steel? What's that? Another Iron man film?

If even fanboys stop talking about the film, then something will show up!

 

[J.Howlett]

OR it could be the fact that marketing your film at the same time as 2 potential blockbusters would be extremely costly?

AND the fact that your film comes out 6 weeks later, might make the competing pointless?

PLUS the fact that after both films are out, WB has at least 6 WEEKS to promote their movie non-stop (with NO competition for their audience on their release date), that may make more sense?


Yeah, it's silly. Lets spend millions marketing the film NOW, at the same time as IM3 and STID, then wait 6 weeks, because WB will have nothing left except spoiling the damn movie. Yes, that's a much better idea...

Preach, my friend.

 

[Marvin]

The Star Trek hype will still be building at that time... in fact it will be even more intense. The Iron Man 3 hype may still be around at that time if the film is good. It seems to me that the beginning of May would be the peak of the hype for those films, and the worst possible time to try to do a last-minute marketing blitz.

Its better to start early and build momentum.

WB started MoS press before any of those.
just saying.

 

[ThePhantasm]

The reason that I'm asking this question is that I think a lot of you seem to have forgotten what happened in December. That's when the first full trailer for MOS came out, and BLEW EVERYONE away. Not the fans. Not the Internetrrs. EVERYONE. The General Audience. With 1 trailer, WB managed what films like After Earth, World War Z and Monsters University achieved with countless posters, trailers, WonderCon promotions - they got the GA aware that there is a new Superman film out in 2013.

Wrong. A huge amount of people in the GA have no idea there is a Superman film coming out. I talk to people all the time who have no clue about it. The trailer was nice, but hardly the supersensation that you seem to think it was.

No prior buildup? The whole POINT of movie marketing is NOT to get people interested in watching a film, but to make you AWARE of a new film.

This is all wrong. In no way is that the only point of marketing. Marketing is indeed supposed to build interest, otherwise they'd just post signs saying "hey a new Superman movie is coming out, just so you know." Its not just for awareness. That's an absurd view of how marketing works.

 

[Travesty]

with that Mask will Bane-Zod of Man or Krypton learn to bucky up with the Clark Kent Superman... and go for a real Super ride

similar to how Bane wanted to deal with Batman before it was excised unfortunately from the script

 

[J.Howlett]

I think people forget that the awareness of this film began on July 20th, 2012 with the announcement trailer attached to Rises. Couple that with the first teaser trailer in December and the response to that, I think it's safe to say that WB has done the job of making everyone know what's coming.

We're at the home stretch now. As soon as Disney/Marvel finishes spoiling everything about Iron Man 3, we'll see the final push.

Patience is a virtue, people.

 

[ThePhantasm]

WB started MoS press before any of those.
just saying.

My point has nothing to do with "who got there first?" and everything to do with "who has been most consistent?" Its about buildup, not initial presence.

 

[J.Howlett]

What's even funnier is that none of these impatient arguments will be a factor once the final trailer hits, probably in 2 weeks.

Everything here will be back to normal.

 

[Marvin]

No prior buildup? The whole POINT of movie marketing is NOT to get people interested in watching a film, but to make you AWARE of a new film. I hate the Twilight films, and NEVER watch horror films, but movie marketing makes me aware if such films are coming out. MOS established GA awareness with the December trailer. Don't believe me? Look at the downloads, YouTube accounts by non fans, news reports by other media sites. WB has succeeded with the first point - letting people know there's a new Superman film.

The whole point of selling a product, film in this case, isn't just to let you know it's coming.

If that was so, every trailer would just be a name, and a date.
Ignore the whole, from the director who brought you batman and all that, ignore the cars transforming and buildings falling over, ignore the money shot at the end of every single one of them...

sorry, I don't agree.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I think people forget that the awareness of this film began on July 20th, 2012 with the announcement trailer attached to Rises. Couple that with the first teaser trailer in December and the response to that, I think it's safe to say that WB has done the job of making everyone know what's coming.

No one has forgotten that. Marketing is not just about awareness, it is about selling tickets and building interest.

As for patience, I'm plenty patient. My life moves on just fine without MOS. But I think WB's marketing strategy has been laughably bad so far.

 

[ThePhantasm]

The whole point of selling a product, film in this case, isn't just to let you know it's coming.

If that was so, every trailer would just be a name, and a date.
Ignore the whole, from the director who brought you batman and all that, ignore the cars transforming and buildings falling over, ignore the money shot at the end of every single one of them...

sorry, I don't agree.

I've seen some bad arguments supporting WB's current marketing strategy, but the "marketing is only for awareness" defense takes the cake.